Michigan State hockey fans can expect to hear their school’s name mentioned often during this year’s NHL draft.
Draft analysts predict as many as five Spartan recruits, who will join MSU either this season or next, could be drafted in the first round of this year’s event June 26-27 at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York.
Defenseman Chase Reid and forwards Ethan Belchetz, Nikita Klepov and Jack Hextall will join MSU’s lineup this winter and are expected to hear their names called in the first round Friday night. And some think a fifth prospect, Brooks Rogowski, a 6-foot-7 forward out of Brighton who will arrive at MSU in 2027, could also sneak in as a late first-round pick.
The group is headlined by Reid – a 6-2 right-shot defenseman projected to selected among the top five picks. Corey Pronman, the senior NHL prospect writer and analyst for The Athletic, has Reid as the No. 1 player on his board.
“(Reid) checks every box in what you want in a defenseman with the length, excellent skating and puck-moving ability,” Pronman said. “He makes stops, competes well, and he’s good enough defensively where if he’s not a premier player from (MSU) next year, and one of the better defensemen in the conference, I’d be a little surprised.”
Reid’s rise as a prospect has been meteoric, starting with being a regular scratch during the 2023-24 season in the United States Hockey League with the Waterloo Blackhawks, appearing in just 10 games before eventually being cut. The next season, Reid moved to the North American Hockey League and played for the Bismarck Bobcats for 19 games before signing with the Soo Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League, which is where he began to blossom.
This past season, Reid had 18 goals and 30 assists in 45 regular-season games, then three goals and three assists in 10 postseason contests. Reid never played less than 20 minutes a game, developing into the Greyhounds’ most reliable and dependent defenseman in all situations.
Reid was then selected as one of the youngest players on Team USA’s World Juniors roster, scoring twice and assisting on two other goals in five games in the tournament while playing with current Spartans Ryker Lee and Shane Vansaghi.
Now, Reid won’t have to wait very long to hear his name called on Friday. Pronman believes he won’t get past the Chicago Blackhawks at No. 4 overall, where he could eventually team up with former Spartan defenseman Artyom Levshunov, who was taken second overall in the 2024 draft.
“(Reid) is not quite as skilled as (Levshunov), but he’s much more well-rounded coming in already and Levshunov was a top-two pick in his year,” Pronman said. “He played at a really high level in his draft-eligible year against really good players. He’s just a complete package.”
Reid will log big minutes with the Spartans this season while likely quarterbacking MSU’s top power play unit. His ability to navigate through zones, walk the blue line with ease, and create high-danger scoring chances is expected to make him one of the conference’s best defenseman right from the jump.
Contact Nathaniel Bott at nbott@lsj.com and follow him on X @Nathaniel_Bott
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Elite defenseman Chase Reid leads group of expected 1st-round MSU picks in NHL draft
Reporting by Nathaniel Bott, Lansing State Journal / Lansing State Journal
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By Nathaniel Bott, Lansing State Journal | USA TODAY Network
